


Stay Awake

by Random_Inked_Thoughts



Series: Challenges with Backbiter222 [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Aliens, Challenge Response, Childish Doctor (Doctor Who), Crack Treated Seriously, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Crack, I guess it's a crack fic, Minor Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade, Multi, Murder Mystery, Outer Space, River Song is done, River Song is tired, Sherlock Being Sherlock, Sherlock doesn't believe in aliens, Sherlock is a Brat, Sulking, mystrade if you squint realllllyyyyy hard, not set at any particular time, sleepy eleven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:52:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15765105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Inked_Thoughts/pseuds/Random_Inked_Thoughts
Summary: When The (eleventh) Doctor is challenged to not sleep for a week, he accepts. However, this interferes with his judgement when he reaches earth and encounters everyone's favorite stuck up detective, Sherlock Holmes. River is doing her best, but really just wants to sleep.The results of my challenge with Backbiter222.





	Stay Awake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Backbiter222](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Backbiter222/gifts).



> Hello, and thank you for clicking on my fic! If you're staying up here long enough to read this, you're awesome. I just need to mention some stuff. 
> 
> 1\. This is a challenge that I did with Backbiter222. We challenged each other to write something out of our comfort zones, and mine just happened to be Doctor Who with plot and about murder, aliens, and at least partially in space. Let me know if you think I nailed it or failed it!  
> 2\. While I have watched Doctor Who, this will be my first work in the fandom. So yayyyyy!  
> 3\. The challenge I gave him was to write a fic for Supernatural, with Cas/Dean pairing, and to include fluff, cuddles, and no character death. It's titled "Man in the Bar" and basically threw the challenge rules out the window, but please go check it out, he's an amazing writer, and if you're into more morbid works, his stuff is the stuff for you.

“I don’t believe you can.” 

 

“What do you mean? Of course I can! I’m the Doctor!” 

 

Amy stood, facing said Doctor, hands on her hips and a small smirk on her face. “Then prove it.” 

 

~•~•~•~•~

 

“Where to now, Doctor?” River yawned, raising her arms above her head in an exaggerated motion as she did so, leaning slightly on the TARDIS console. “You know, I’m quite tired, it’s ok if you feel the same way…” She trailed off. They had just gotten back from sands of a planet that she had found to much resemble Tattoiene, and while she was quite tired, the Doctor would absolutely not, under any circumstances, admit that he felt the same, and so they were at a standstill. 

 

The doctor had dark circles under his eyes, and his eyelids drooped. He had a large, triangular pink mark on his cheek from resting it on something before dozing off, and his usually nicely combed hair was everywhere. Worst of all, his bowtie lay askew around his neck, limp and disappointing. “No, River, you promised me,” He made out sluggishly.

 

“Yes, what exactly was it that I promised you again?” River was starting to regret it, to say the least. She just couldn’t say no whenever he did the puppy dog eyes. 

 

“Amy didn’t believe that I could stay up for a week,” The Doctor stifled one of his own yawns. “And continue to function ‘normally.’ You’re here to provide witness.” 

 

River looked at him incredulously. “Why would I ever agree to that? Well, it’s been three days, and you’ve definitely lost. May I sleep now?” 

 

“So I was thinking a trip back to good old Earth,” The Doctor continued without listening to her, reading from a nearby screen. “Three found dead in downtown London. Witness states they saw hooded creatures and strange flashes of light before the three victims were found, drained of blood. I’m thinking alien.” He grinned sleepily. “Ready? Let’s go!” He pulled the lever, and off the TARDIS went. It landed a few moments later, and the Doctor skipped to the door like an excited child.

 

River sighed, looking mournfully one last time at her bedroom door, before joining him, straightening his bowtie and slipping her hand into his. “Come on, Sweetie,” She smirked. 

 

He followed her with a dopey smile on his face as she pushed through the TARDIS doors, though that might have been partially due to lack of sleep. And they stopped immediately into a throng of flashing lights, police tape, and people. River scanned the crowd briefly, her eyes finally resting on a man in the very back. She pointed him out to the Doctor. “There- tall black hair talking to short and angry.”

 

“Yes, very interesting…” The Doctor trailed off. River looked over at him. He was squinting his eyes so much that he could have been asleep on his feet. “Why him?” 

 

River rolled her eyes. “Well, for starters, he’s the one photographed in the newspaper, the one that’s supposed to be solving this case. Two, he’s wearing a shock blanket, so he’s obviously the witness as well. Three, he looks like he couldn’t give a single bloody crap about said shock blanket, so the signs point to not human. Shall I go on?” She yawned once more. 

 

“No, I get the idea, dear.” The Doctor’s ears were colouring pink, something that occured whenever he became extremely embarrassed. River could have sworn she could hear him mutter “I should have thought of that,” under his breath. 

 

She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. “Don’t worry Sweetie, you’ll get there eventually. We’ll talk to him now, yes?”

 

Nodding a little, the Doctor began to make his way through the throng of people to the man, River close beside him. As soon as they came within speaking distance, his eyes snapped away from the smaller man beside him and locked in on them, narrowing slightly. 

 

“Hello!” The Doctor waved cheerfully, looking only slightly drugged. “My name’s The Doctor, what’s yours?” 

 

“You mean you don’t know me?” The man looked down at them, assessing. “Out of town, definitely. Staying for two, no, one day. No bags. It’s quite clear that Bowtie’s been here before, though I’m not sure about Ringlets yet. I’d say she’s coming back for the first time in a very long time, most likely only at Bowtie’s request. Tut tut, Bowtie, she didn’t want to come. Old tan… I’d say prison sentence? Despite that, it’s quite obvious that you’ve both been together for quite a while, however, you’re not married, and not living together. You’re not part of the department, they’d come and flash badges first thing, you’re not just tourists, and you’re  _ not _ supposed to be here. So.” The man smiled at them for the first time, leaning against the black door behind him, “ _ what _ are you doing at my crime scene?”

 

River blinked in surprise. 

 

The small man beside him sighed, reaching out his arm for River to shake. “He’s like that with everyone, I’m sorry. My name’s John, this is Sherlock.” 

 

“Who are you? That was bloody brilliant!” The Doctor was staring at Sherlock with childish fascination, wide awake. 

 

River shook his hand. “I’m Riversong, and this is the Doctor.”

 

Sherlock leaned down to whisper in John’s ear. “You’re no fun at all.”

 

John simply chuckled a little in response. “That’s not what you said last night.” 

 

Sherlock choked on his next words, dissolving into a small coughing fit. 

 

“How about you tell us how you did it, Sherlock, since I sense that’s your favorite part.” River offered, allowing the man a moment to regain his composure. 

 

“Y-yes, of course.” His cheeks still slightly pink, the man stood up. “Out of town, easy. You look at everything like tourists, and you had absolutely no clue who I was. I’ve been on the front page of the last six papers, and John here runs a blog about our ‘crime solving.’ You’re only planning to stay for one day, though, since you don’t have any bags. I assume you parked your car nearby, or took a train. Bowtie’s accent gives away that he was at least raised here, but I had yet to hear her voice at that point. Hearing her voice now only confirms my suspicions. She was raised here as well-”

 

“How did you know I’d been to prison?” River interrupted. “That’s what I really want to know.”

 

“The way you held yourself. It’s quite obvious, you’re always in a defensive position. The way you looked at everything, it was quite obvious there were some memories you associated with this place, though you had to look twice at a street sign nearby, so you don’t know your way around. Thus, grown up here, taken to prison, returned for the first time.” He sounded exasperated, as though he was explaining something to three year olds.

 

“What about the part where you knew about our relationship?” The Doctor wondered. 

 

Sherlock rolled his eyes. “That was the easiest part. Everyone wears their hearts on their sleeves. For one, you pecked him on the cheek earlier, and you haven’t unclasped hands yet. Together, duh. However, no rings. Ok, so maybe you’re not ring people. No, that’s not it. You’d want something materialistic to recognize that. You’re sentimental. Why else would you keep the same fraying bowtie for years? No, that wouldn’t make sense. Also, you’re not even living together. Bowtie’s clothes are rumpled, though clean. However, if you look closely, her’s are ironed, crisp, and use a different detergent. You can tell, because Bowtie’s leaves a small, barely noticeable yellowish tinge behind on whites. Don’t worry, you’d have to look closely.” He closed his mouth, looking pleased with himself. “I’ve answered your questions, now answer mine. Why are you here?” 

 

“Ah, yes, all will be explained, just,” The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper, handing it to Sherlock. “I assume this will clear up everything.” He waited. 

 

Sherlock stared at him in disbelief. “This is just a blank piece of paper.” 

 

The Doctor blinked. “Excuse me?” He snatched the paper back, looking at it from all angles, beginning to mutter under his breath. “It’s never done this before… why is it doing this now? Come on girl, don’t fail on me now…” Finally, he handed it to John. “Read this, please.”

 

“Um, ok.” John looked at him like he was slightly crazy, before looking at the paper. “Oh! The Doctor, Health and Safety.” 

 

“Don’t make things up John, it’s unbecoming.” Sherlock frowned slightly.

 

“He’s not. Lying, I mean.” River offered. 

 

Sherlock opened his mouth to retaliate, but the Doctor interrupted with a satisfied look on his face, pocketing the offending paper. “Anywho, that’s not why we’re here. We want to talk to you about the recent m-m-murders,” The Doctor let out a huge yawn, covering his mouth. 

 

“Oh, it’s very simple, don’t bother. I’ve already figured it out. Boring!” 

 

“Is that so?” The Doctor cocked his head to the side as well. “So have I.” 

 

“You have? Impossible!” Sherlock scoffed. 

 

“Then let us say what we will on the count of three.” The Doctor smiled. 

 

“Very well.”

 

They counted together. “Three, two, one…” 

 

“A cult,” Sherlock said, with complete conviction, at the same time as the Doctor said whilst grinning wildly, “Aliens.” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Excuse me?” 

 

“These murders show several signs that point right to the typical behavior shown when this particular kind of alien shows up on other planets. I’m quite surprised you didn’t figure this out yoursel-.”

 

“You’re off your rocker.” Sherlock sniffed in distaste.

 

“No, hear me out!” The Doctor started. 

 

“Lestrade!” Sherlock called out, and another man, whom River assumed to be Lestrade, began briskly walking over. He looked to Sherlock expectantly, as one would look at a higher up. “You’re looking thinner. Mycroft put you on a diet too? My condolences. Take Bowtie and Ringlets here, get them out of my sight.”

 

Lestrade opened his mouth to respond, before closing it, simply nodding and grabbing their shoulders, starting to lead them away, away from the prissy detective. 

 

  
“By the way, it’s a cult!” Sherlock called back at them pompously, and Lestrade nodded back to Sherlock, calling out. “Ok, we’ll take a look.” 

 

~•~•~•~•~

 

A few hours later, a very disgruntled as well as tired Doctor was still storming around the console room, all in a huff. 

 

River leaned against the console, yawning slightly. “What was causing the murders?” 

 

You could barely hear the Doctor’s response through his sulking. “A cult.”    
  
“Well, you win some you lose some. What now? How much longer do we have to stay awake?” River shrugged her shoulders. 

 

The Doctor’s eyes seemed to light up then. “I know.” 

 

_ Uh oh. _

 

“Doctor?” River inquired, her brows furrowing. “What are you thinking?” 

 

A ghost of a smile began to form on the Doctor’s lips as he straightened his bowtie.

 

~•~•~•~•~

 

Sherlock sat up slowly, wincing as the blood rushed to his head. His vision was blurry, and his head was pounding. “What did you do to me?” He croaked out. 

 

“Not my idea, trust me,” River mumbled, before speaking up. “Just knocked you out. Sorry about that. He only wants to show you something.” 

 

“Ringlets?” Sherlock blinked through the fuzzy feeling in his head as she finally came into focus. Then, the rest of the TARDIS came into focus. “Where the bloody hell am I? Where’s John?” His eyes widened as he took in the interior of the blue police box, his brain struggling to link it to anything he had seen before. But it was not of Earth, and so he failed. “Where am I?” He whispered again, more scared than anything else. 

 

The Doctor walked into view then, smiling. “Take a look.” He motioned to the doors. 

 

Sherlock got up, walking briskly to the doors and wrenching them open, meaning to step outside. Instead, he flailed for a moment before catching himself on the doorframe. Nothing but stars met his eyes. Space swirled around them, and he found himself frozen. 

 

“Now would you believe me if I told you aliens exist?” The Doctor whispered into the silence. 

 

Sherlock turned around, his eyes wide, the words barely a whisper upon his lips.

 

“Teach me.”

 

~•~•~•~•~

 

John walked into their living room, a hot cup of tea steaming in his hand. “Sherlock?” he called out, finally finding him hunched over his computer, an intense look of concentration on his face. “What’s that? Articles on the solar system?” John chuckled a little at that. “I thought that you only remembered the important stuff.” 

 

Sherlock made a noise like an annoyed house cat, to which John just ruffled his hair and pressed a small kiss to his temple. “I’ll go make you some tea. You have a lot of information to go through.”

**Author's Note:**

> So there you have it! The result of my first challenge with Backbiter222 ! Do you think I nailed it or failed it? I had a great time, he had a great time, and if you really loved it, please go check out his stuff. He writes a lot of original work, and deserves way more reads than he has currently. Please leave a comment or kudos if you have the time, since I practically live off of them!


End file.
